Day #11: The Bunny Trick

I have two weaknesses in life.

Fat babies and pugs.

I see a large baby or a pug, and I turn into a new mother watching her infant suckle on its own toe.

So it stands to reason that in my quest to become a nicer person, I should start where it's the easiest--

Being kind to fat babies and pugs.

Unfortunately, I'm not around pugs nearly as often as I'd like to be, which just leaves the babies.

Luckily, I work in a library, so I am around kids every so often.

Where better to show kindness than to a rising soul?

So today I vowed I would be extra nice to every kid that came to the library.

Now, it's not very hard to make a kid smile when they're in a library. For one thing, they understand that it's sort of a solemn place, so whenever you show even a hint of humor, they can't handle it. The contradiction is too much, and pretty soon they're on the floor laughing trying to comprehend the gap in their universal understanding of where "library" goes since it can no longer be placed with "dentist's office" on the enjoyment scale.

Surefire ways to make kids smile from behind a circulation desk:

1) Let them stamp the books. Giving a kid what seems like an "adult" job usually makes their day.

2) Stamp their hands (only with Mom's approval) then say "You're due back in a week." Say it with a totally serious expression and they'll do that awesome giggle where their nose goes up into their face.

3) Tell their parents in front of them that they were the best behaved kid at the library that day. It makes the parents feel good, it makes the kids feel great, and most of the time it results in the kid behaving even better the next time they come to the library. (Kids like to maintain winning streaks.)

Today, however, I did all this and still couldn't win over this little girl who seemed determine to pout.

She didn't want to stamp the books, have her hand stamped, or believe that she was well-behaved.

(I understand the reluctance towards the last part--she was crying for a solid ten minutes.)

So I gave her one of the origami bunnies we have at the desk that a woman made for us. They're tiny, cute, and intricate.

Instantly, the little girl was mesmerized.

Me? She seemed to say. This is mine?

Understandable--it's a library. Nothing there is ever for keeps.

But the bunny was.

After that she was all smiles.

All because of a paper bunny.

Maybe I can master this whole kindness thing after all.